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With so many new technological advancements, such as cloud gaming and mobile gaming, the PS5 and Xbox Series X are arguably the last traditional video game consoles. This is why.

It may sound hard to believe, but video game consoles have been around for about 50 years and have been in a constant state of evolution all these years. In every way, these consoles have changed and adapted to their respective generation of gamers. Of course, that also applies to the games made for them.

If one thing is certain when you pay close attention to the way the gaming industry has always changed, it’s that it’s almost impossible to find something that stands still. And with this we’re not just talking about the hardware, but also the software part of the game industry.

Of course, we have to keep in mind that video games are anything but unique to video game consoles. There are many ways to play video games other than just on a game console. And these alternative ways to play have always been a threat to the video game console market.

In recent years, we’ve mostly seen this threat take a lot of control over the market, even driving some big names in the industry out of certain markets.

Why are we even talking about the threats to the video game market now? Well, it’s because now, for the first time ever, they pose a real, tangible threat to the way we’ve been gaming for decades. And we’re here to talk about this, and how the days of traditional game consoles may already be numbered.

Let’s start by discussing some of these threats and how they affect our beloved traditional game consoles.

The world is constantly changing

Why the PS5 and Xbox Series X will likely be the last consoles

So to see what qualifies as a threat to consoles, we must first define what we mean by traditional game consoles. So, for all other purposes in this article, we will define a game console as a device made specifically to run video games developed specifically for that device, and it must be plugged into a TV or monitor, as well as a power outlet. . Sure, it can be a pretty long definition, but making sure we’re on the same page is very important for this.

So by that definition you can already see one thing, and it’s that it’s a much smaller market this time around than it’s been in years, know that you really only get two possible console options, either the Xbox series or the PS5 . Yes, we know the most popular current ones that we haven’t mentioned yet, and there’s a good reason for that.

The Nintendo Switch is surprisingly one of the most intelligent video game consoles we’ve ever seen. Yes, it’s very below par compared to what Sony’s PS5 and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles have to offer, and sure, it might not be on the same level. But it knows that, and it doesn’t even try to compete. By going completely hybrid, Nintendo has almost protected itself from one of the biggest threats to video game consoles right now: mobile gaming.

Of course, it can seem that the mobile gaming market is a niche market and that it is heavily targeted at a much more casual audience. but the truth is that this is the biggest possible audience you can go for, as everyone needs a smartphone these days, and most people will carry one anyway. If you count mobile gaming in the gaming market numbers, Apple easily becomes one of the most successful economically speaking gaming companies in the world just from their revenues from gaming software.

Mobile gaming has the most gamers of any other platform, and it’s actually out of fear for this industry that Sony decided to pull out of the portable game console market completely, completely destroying the PlayStation Vita halfway through its lifecycle. Sony saw the threat and decided it was pointless to continue to compete with such a huge market.

However, handhelds now seem to be an important part of the future of gaming. The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid game console from Nintendo, and it is also one of the fastest-selling consoles of all time and the current best-selling video game console on the market. We all know that the Switch combines the best of both worlds, all the comforts, ease of use and the ability to be used in many ways and even multiplayer out of the box, with all the good things of having a home console.

But if you’ve been keeping an eye out for the past few months, you’ve probably noticed one of the biggest threats ever to video game consoles as we know them, and it’s one that’s been around since the beginning: PC gaming.

The future of gaming

Why the PS5 and Xbox Series X will likely be the last consoles

Now we know you might think PC gaming isn’t a direct competitor to console gaming, and you’d be right. But the latest advances in PC gaming do indeed pose a serious threat. Not only are computers currently much more powerful than ever, but there are more ways to do PC gaming than ever before. We are talking about devices such as the new Steam Deck and the Aya Neo series.

These are physically portable console-like devices, but they’re actually very capable and quite powerful computers, and like the Nintendo Switch, they can also be plugged into a screen, turning them into home consoles. But not only that, they also become almost completely bloated computers, even capable of running Windows. This gives you all the advantages of a handheld console, combined with a desktop computer and a laptop. It’s all these capabilities that make it a huge threat to the consoles as we know them.

Of course, if you have a good internet connection, there is also the option to use cloud gaming. This way you could play really demanding games even from your phone or a low-end computer.

In general, by all this we mean that in order to survive, it would probably be best for Sony and Microsoft with their home consoles to go the hybrid route. After all, who wouldn’t want a new PlayStation handheld (or a portable PS5), or it could be the first time we see something like a mobile Xbox? Hell, they already have Xbox TVs.

The future is coming, and the question is not if, but when they will make the big change in order to survive.

Tell us, do you think traditional video game consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X will die?